Pumped hydro is the flavour of the week
Following an apparent revival of the Spirit of Ireland on Monday, it’s now Organic Power‘s turn to look into pumped hydro to store electricity, using salt water and the Atlantic Ocean as the lower...
View ArticleWarmer Homes
I was wrong. I previously argued that subsidies for home insulation are an expensive way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The SEAI has now release a post-hoc assessment of the Warmer Homes Scheme....
View Article20 million euro for NEW energy research centre
The government will establish the European Energy Research Centre at the Tyndall National Institute, and provide initial support of 20 million euro. See here. Tyndall has no prior experience with...
View ArticleThe cost of triple regulation
There has been some consternation about the announced energy levy. See Times, Examiner, and Independent (in decreasing order of accuracy). The CER has announced an increase of the PSO levy (currently...
View ArticlePSO levy (ctd)
My piece in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post builds on my post of last week. I also included elements of the discussion (thanks!), particularly expanding the bits on import substitution. Having studied...
View ArticlePSO levy (3)
Sarah Carey is not impressed with the PSO levy. See the earlier discussion here and here.
View ArticlePaul Hunt’ submission to An Bord Strip
is here Paul unsurprisingly focuses on regulation and energy. The piece starts with some common misconceptions about energy prices before arguing the case of vertical disintegration and privatisation.
View ArticlePrivatisation in energy
Minister Ryan has come out against the privatisation of state-owned energy companies, for three reasons. First, the minister states that these companies are investing, and implies that these...
View ArticleThe Spirit of Ireland 2.0
The Spirit of Ireland is back. A new glossy was distributed widely by email today. More than one-and-a-half year into the project, there is still no detailed plan, at least not in the public domain. As...
View ArticleEnergy and Environment Review 2010
Out now The Energy and Environment Review 2010 is the third in a series of annual reports published by the Economic and Social Research Institute, discussing trends in resource use and emissions to the...
View ArticleWindfall entitlements
There is an interesting piece in the Irish Times today. Carbon dioxide emission permits are given away for free (grandparented) to electricity companies. This is a transfer of property from we the...
View ArticlePrime Time on the cost of wind
The video is now online. Eamon Ryan and Kieran O’Brien both cite an ESRI paper, but O’Brien does so accurately. UPDATE: The abstract of the paper is here. Minister Ryan argues that the price of...
View ArticleThe cost of wind (ctd)
Referring to my earlier remarks about an ESRI paper, here’s the verbatim conclusions of the paper. Seán Diffney, John Fitz Gerald, Seán Lyons, Laura Malaguzzi Valeri, “Investment in electricity...
View ArticleIreland’s Atlantic Oil & Gas
Minister Rabbitte responds to an earlier piece by Fintan O’Toole in today’s Irish Times. It may well be that there are large amounts of oil and gas off Ireland’s west coast. It may well be that, after...
View ArticleResults of the smart meter trial
There’s a peculiar piece in today’s Independent. The reports of the CER’s 18 month smart meter trial were published in May. The trial found statistically and economically significant changes in...
View ArticleCBA of the Home Energy Saving scheme
The SEAI has released its cost-benefit analysis of the Home Energy Saving scheme, which concludes that for every euro invested, five euros were earned. More money to the SEAI so, and the economic...
View ArticleReform of household energy policy
Minister Rabbitte for Energy sketches several reforms of household energy policy in today’s Irish Times. These are plans for the longer term. There are a range of fuel allowances. Some are...
View ArticleGormanston, Tarbert and regulation
The Examiner has a story on the proposed LNG terminal at Tarbert in the Shannon estuary. This is a privately funded project and a welcome stimulus for North Kerry. As long as the developers play within...
View ArticleIreland in the European Court again, now over gas
In December, I blogged about the gas interconnector, the Shannon LNG terminal, and the need for regulatory reform in the wholesale gas market. Last week, the European Commission chipped in. It is...
View ArticleGas interconnection
In December, I blogged about the peculiar pricing rules for the gas interconnector with Scotland. (The current rules would grant substantial market power to importers of LNG. The CER has been aware of...
View ArticleExporting electricity
UPDATE2 Over on Twitter, Antoin argues that the plan as interpreted by me would violate EirGrid’s statutory monopoly. Minister Rabbite yesterday announced plans to export wind power to Great Britain....
View ArticleEnergy could be so much cheaper
Gas interconnection The Celtic Tiger died five years ago. The economic crisis hurts. The end of the pain is not in sight. So you would think that the government would do everything it can to keep...
View ArticlePaul Hunt on rent-seeking and regulation in gas and power
Paul’s talk at the DEW in Galway is now available. It is worth a read for all interested in energy markets, and for all who argue, wrongly, that regulatory reform is not a priority for stimulating...
View ArticleBogtec
Yesterday, Pat Rabbitte and Ed Davey signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU is crafted in terms of the Renewables Directive, which allows EU Member States to pool their targets. Essentially, the...
View ArticleBogtec (continued)
The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between Ireland and the UK on wind power has led to excited talk of tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in tax revenue and expert earnings. How...
View ArticleMore on Bogtec
Pat Swords has a post on Bishop Hill on Bogtec. Pat reveals (1) that the European Commission intends to pay for part of the infrastructure and (2) that the European Commission does not have or does not...
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